Donald Trump said he was indicted in the classified documents case

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MIAMI (AP) Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most dangerous of the many legal threats against the former president. as he tries to regain the White House.

The Justice Department did not immediately publicly confirm the accusation. But two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss it publicly said the Trumps’ team had been notified that he had been indicted on seven counts and that prosecutors had contacted lawyers to advise them of the indictment on several counts. moments before Trump himself announced it on his Pratovata Social platform.

This is truly a DARK DAY for the United States of America, Trump posted. We are a Nation in serious and rapid Decline, but together let’s Make America Great Again!

Within 20 minutes of his announcement, Trump, who said he was due in court Tuesday afternoon in Miami, began fundraising for his 2024 presidential campaign.

The case adds to deepening legal jeopardy for Trump, who has already been indicted in New York and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that could also lead to criminal charges. As the prosecution moves forward, it will pit Trump’s claims of sweeping executive powers against Attorney General Merrick Garlands whose oft-cited mantra is that no one, including a former commander in chief, should be considered above law

The indictment stems from a months-long investigation by special counsel Jack Smith into whether Trump violated the law by handling hundreds of documents marked classified at his Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, and if Trump takes steps to thwart the government’s recovery efforts. the records.

Prosecutors said Trump brought about 300 classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, including about 100 the FBI seized in August during a search of the home that highlighted the weight of the Justice Department’s investigation.

Trump and his team have long seen the special counsel’s investigation as more dangerous than New York’s political and legal affairs. Campaign aides have been bracing for the fallout since Trump’s lawyers were notified that he was the target of the investigation, assuming it wasn’t a matter of if charges would be brought, but when.

But it remains unclear what the immediate and long-term political consequences are for Trump. His first accusation prompted millions of dollars in contributions from angry supporters and did Trump no harm in the polls. Whatever happens, the indictment and the legal battle that follows — will thrust Trump back into the spotlight, siphoning attention from other candidates trying to build momentum in the 2024 presidential race.

Trump insisted he had the right to keep the classified documents when he left the White House, and also claimed without evidence that he had declassified them.

The former president has long sought to use mounting legal problems to his political advantage, complaining on social media and at public events that the charges are being pushed by Democratic prosecutors to hurt his 2024 election campaign. he relied on that playbook again, reviving his long-standing claim that the Justice Department that, during his presidency, investigated whether his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia was somehow a weapon against to him.

The case is a milestone for a Justice Department that has investigated Trump for years as president and as a private citizen but has never charged him with a crime. Garland was nominated by President Joe Biden, who is seeking re-election in 2024.

Among the various state and federal investigations facing Trump, legal experts including Trump’s former attorney general have long seen the Mar-a-Lago investigation as one of the most likely to result in indictment and the one where the evidence seems to favor the government. Court records unsealed last year showed that federal investigators believe they have probable cause that multiple crimes were committed, including withholding national defense information, destroying government records and intercepting in an investigation.

Since then, the Justice Department has gathered additional evidence and obtained grand jury testimony from people close to Trump, including his own lawyers. The laws governing the handling of classified records and obstruction are felonies that can carry years in prison if convicted.

Signs have emerged for weeks that an indictment is imminent, including a June 5 meeting between the Trumps’ lawyers and Justice Department officials. After that meeting, Trump said on social media that he expected to be indicted, though he insisted he had done nothing wrong.

Although much of the investigative work has been handled in Washington, with a grand jury meeting there for months, it emerged recently that prosecutors were presenting evidence before a separate panel in Florida, where many of the alleged acts of obstruction were examined by prosecutors with efforts. to move the boxes took place.

Trump’s legal problems extend beyond the New York impeachment case and classified documents.

The special counsel has a separate investigation underway focused on efforts by Trump and his allies to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election. And the district attorney in Georgias Fulton County is investigating Trump for alleged efforts to sabotage the 2020 election in that state.

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